|
The
Trade in Bear Bile
Courtesy
of World
Society for the Protection of Animals
2000
For
the past 3,000 years, traditional Chinese medicine has
prescribed derivatives of bear bile for medicinal purposes.
During
1999 and 2000, the World
Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) conducted
one of the most comprehensive inspections of Chinese bear
farms undertaken. The investigation revealed how at farms
across China, bears are surgically mutilated and "milked" each
day for their gall bile. These animals endure the most
appalling levels of cruelty and neglect, and attempts to
improve standards at two government-monitored farms in
China have not alleviated even basic animal welfare problems.
WSPA's
research also shows that bear farming continues to jeopardize
the survival of bears in the wild. In South East Asia,
black bears are captured and sold to bear farms, while
the vigorous marketing of bear bile products across the
world has put a price on the head of every living bear.
For
the past 3,000 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
has prescribed derivatives of bear gall bile for medicinal
purposes. Bear bile contains an active constituent known
as UrsoDeoxyCholic Acid (UDCA), which on ingestion is believed
to reduce fever and inflammation, protect the liver, improve
eyesight and break down gallstones. Over the last 20 years,
the marketing of and resulting demand for bile products
has led to the introduction of the intensive "farming" of
these wild animals. There are now officially 247 bear farms
across China, housing an estimated total of 7,002 bears.
While
TCM utilizes a total of 500 kg of bear bile every year,
more than 7,000 kg is now being produced, with the majority
feeding a demand for products such as wines, tonics and
eyedrops. Recent developments show that the Chinese government
still has long-term plans for the bear farming industry.
At the 3rd International Symposium on the Trade in Bear
Parts, which was organized by Traffic East Asia in Seoul
1999, Chinese government representatives claimed that some
Chinese farms had reached internationally agreed standards
as captive breeding centers. This announcement signified
their intention to secure permission from the Convention
on the Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to trade bear
bile products internationally.
A bear farm from the outside. |
Milking Bears
The method of extracting bile differs between farms, but in all cases, a fistula or opening is surgically made through the abdominal area and into the gall bladder. A tube is then inserted to tap the bile, or a steel stick is forced through to the gall bladder so that the bile can run down into a basin below.
Bile is secreted by the liver via the hepatic duct and stored in the gall bladder. During feeding, bile passes through the common bile duct into the duodenum to aid digestion. Between 10 and 20 ml of bile is tapped from each bear twice daily during feeding, which is likely to impede the bear's ability to digest food adequately.
During milking, WSPA investigators witnessed signs of severe distress in every bear. Moaning and banging of heads against the cage was common, while some bears were seen to chew their own paws.
During interviews with Chinese specialists in bear farming techniques, it was revealed that for every two successful bile fistula implantations, there are another two or three bear deaths due to complications and infections. The mortality rate is currently between 50 and 60 percent, and has reportedly been reduced from between 70 and 80 percent.
The lifespan of a bear who survives this intrusive surgery is also shortened dramatically. Although it is difficult to establish exactly how long most bears live, anecdotal evidence suggests that the average lifespan is between five and ten years. The mortality rate for cubs during breeding is also high, with new mothers commonly eating their offspring. In the wild, this behavior is rare, and suggests that the parent is under severe stress.
All of the bear breeders emphasized how breeding poses the biggest problem in the business, which is contradictory to claims by the Chinese government that the breeding rate is good enough for self maintenance of stock.
A cage no bigger than the bear enables for easy "milking." This bear, lying on her back, shows where the fistula is inserted through the abdomen into the gall bladder.
The number of bears living in the wild in China is unclear. In 1997, the Ministry of Forestry stated that there were 61,700 bears including 46,530 Asiatic black bears in China. But the Bear Conservation Action Plan published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the number of Asiatic black bears in China at fewer than 20,000 individuals.
The open sale of wild bear bile products throughout China clearly shows that their wildlife conservation law is not effective. It is commonly believed in China that the bile from a wild bear is the most potent, and so farming bears for their bile cannot replace the demand for the product extracted from wild animals. Bears are also captured to supplement the stock of farm-bred animals, and at every farm visited the breeders admitted they had bought wild cubs.
For example, in Yunan and Kuangshi Province bear farms, investigators were told by staff that bear cubs are sold to farms for 2000 to 3000 RMB (US $280 - 400). The financial incentive for hunting bears is high, considering a restaurant worker in China earns around RMB300 (US$40) per month.
Increased commercial demand (for bear bile) will in turn increase profit potential, with a resulting increased demand for bear use on farms. Some of this increase could come from captive breeding, but some would also likely be satisfied by capture of live bears from the wild. ...In summary, bear farming will likely increase and legitimize the use of a product that will continue to come from wild bears and therefore negatively impact on their populations.
There is evidence of bears being killed in North America, Asia and even in South America for their gall bladders. For example, in Ecuador, local people were hunting spectacled bears for their gall bladders to sell to Korean businessmen. Each gall bladder was sold for US $150, and is worth five times the minimum monthly wage in Ecuador. |
continued
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